Slayer　

Slayer were one of the most distinctive, influential, and extreme thrash metal bands of the 1980s. Their graphic lyrics dealt with everything from death and dismemberment to war and the horrors of ..more

My Bloody Valentine　

Like the Velvet Underground, Sonic Youth, and the Jesus and Mary Chain before them, My Bloody Valentine redefined what noise meant within the context of pop songwriting. Led by guitarist { ..more

XTC　

XTC was one of the smartest -- and catchiest -- British pop bands to emerge from the punk and new wave explosion of the late ’70s. From the tense, jerky riffs of their early singles to the ..more

Frank Zappa & The Mothers Of Invasion　

Wham　

Wham! sparked something of a pop revival in the mid-’80s and could arguably be held responsible for sparking off the boy band trend of the ’90s. They were unashamedly pop, to the point of ..more

Graham Bonnet　

In the 1980s, hard rock and heavy metal were all about the way you looked. If you didn’t have long hair and dress in studs, spikes, leather, or spandex, you stuck out like a sore thumb. Singer { ..more

Foo Fighters　

When Foo Fighters released a debut album written and recorded entirely by leader Dave Grohl -- at that point known only as the powerhouse drummer for Nirvana -- in the summer of 1995, few wou ..more

The Band　

For roughly half a decade, from 1968 through 1975, the Band was one of the most popular and influential rock groups in the world, their music embraced by critics (and, to a somewhat lesser degre ..more

Keith Emerson　

Throughout his career with the Nice, Emerson, Lake ＆ Palmer, and as a solo artist, Keith Emerson has proven himself perhaps the greatest, most technically accomplished keyboardist in rock ..more

Peter Gabriel　

As the leader of Genesis in the early ’70s, Peter Gabriel helped move progressive rock to new levels of theatricality. He was no less ambitious as a solo artist, but he was more subtle in his me ..more

Sarah McLachlan　

Canadian singer/songwriter Sarah McLachlan debuted in 1988 with her piano-based folk-pop, which went on to gain her a devoted following, a number of Juno and Grammy Awards, and placement in the Can ..more

Freddie Mercury　

Combining theatrics and an outrageously flamboyant stage persona with his fine natural-born talent (he possessed one of the greatest voices in all of music and penned some of pop’s most enduring and i ..more

Slash　

As the lead guitarist for Guns N’ Roses, Slash established himself as one of hard rock’s finest and most soulful soloists during the late ’80s, technically adept yet always firmly grounded in th ..more

Creedence Clearwater Revival　

At a time when rock was evolving away from the forces that had made the music possible in the first place, Creedence Clearwater Revival brought things back to their roots with their concise synthes ..more

Dr.Feelgood　

Dr. Feelgood was the ultimate working band. From their formation in 1971 to lead vocalist Lee Brilleaux’s untimely death in 1994, the band never left the road, playing hundreds of gigs every yea ..more

Treat　

Cranberries　

Combining the melodic jangle of post-Smiths indie guitar pop with the lilting, trance-inducing sonic textures of late-’80s dream pop and adding a slight Celtic tint, the Cranberries became one o ..more

Mike Oldfield　

Composer Mike Oldfield rose to fame on the success of Tubular Bells, an eerie, album-length conceptual piece employed to stunning effect in the film The Exorcist. Born May 15, 1953, in Readin ..more

Sparks　

Nick Heyward　

Nick Heyward (vocals, guitar) left his band Haircut 100 just when they were cruising through the pop charts in the U.K. Instead of destroying his career, the move actually provided him with m ..more